Midsummer's Memory
by eiyria
Summary: Slightly AU: Ichigo and Tatsuke's friendship has existed for longer than either of them cares to admit. A secret held for six years covers the tragic truth.
1. Memories: Beyond the Looking Glass

Summary: Ichigo has had an inner hollow for longer than anyone anticipated. In fact it is his actual persona, suppressed by a bullet to the head in his youth. Tatsuke has hidden the truth from everyone for years. A story of love, betrayal, and loss.

Disclaimer: Kubo Tite Owns.

Barragon held the black haired girl by the throat with one thin and boney hand. His flesh-less face showed no emotion. Without it, bone could not display arrogant confidence or overwhelming boredom.

"I am the Espada who governs age, and with it time." As Barragon spoke those words, his black robes reflected images. The beaten shinigami around him gasped.

The choking girl, Tatsuke, forcefully opened one eye to see what all the commotion was about. What she saw would have produced the same reaction, had she not been choking at the moment.

The Espada's robes looked like a wrinkled screen on which an old projector shone slides or old films. Images flicked across the monochromatic clothing-screen, distorted by the folds in the Segunda's cloak. Tatsuke recognized the images immediately. It was her life. Her life flashing before her very eyes.

The secret revealed to every shinigami, the one she had worked so hard to burry so deep.

A tear fell from her eyes as she saw the image of a small eight year old boy, raise a pistol, and mouth five words. The last two of which were unmistakably: 'KILL YOU'. Despite being choked, the black-haired teen threw back her head and screamed in agony.

* * *

And the Midsummer's Memory Began Once Again

* * *

*Flash back*

Tatsuke had been walking home from the dojo. An orange haired boy walked beside her. Both were dead silent. They had been friends for years, and simply enjoyed each other's company more than trivial conversation.

The black-haired girl let out a sigh as she recalled the nature of her relationship with the orange haired boy. He was her protector, and in turn, she was his guardian. She ever so slightly pitied Ichigo for all he had to go through.

She had learned at an early age that he was the son of one of the leaders of the underground. Renounced for their anti-authority mindset and mass participation in the majority of the city's violence outbreaks. From a young age, the young boy had been pressured to grow up in the image of his father, a ferocious leader known throughout for his lust of violence.

It was because of this that the boy had been entrusted to Tatsuke's father, the right hand man to the boss. Her father had always made one thing very clear to her: Kurosaki Ichigo was not meant to be a friend, he was under orders to shape the child into a killer worthy of inheriting his father's title. Despite knowing this, Tatsuke and Ichigo's friendship remained unhindered.

Often times, the black-haired girl would find herself watching her father train the boy, and sometimes, even participating a bit herself. Tatsuke was tough. Tougher than a lot of people, and could probably take down someone twice her size barehanded. However, considering she was only eight at the time, someone twice her size wasn't particularly impressive.

Ichigo on the other hand was much stronger than Tatsuke. True, his size was a hindrance, but once he reached a respectable height this would be irrelevant. Training constantly and intensely with Tatsuke's father had equipped him with skill unheard of in someone his age. Hand to hand fighting was, of course, his specialty; and he could easily assemble any semi-automatics produced within the past ten years. And, as expected, being the boss' son meant his life was always in danger. Because of this, the child would always carry a switch blade on him as well as a concealed gun in his bag.

From early in their lives, Tatsuke and Ichigo were friends –perhaps even best friends. Perhaps it was the lack of contact the two had with the rest of the world. After all, he was the son of the underground boss, and she, the daughter of the boss' right hand man.

Despite the constant threats against their lives and the hassling from the police, everything always turned out ok. However, when Ichigo turned ten, something happened that would shatter the tiny world the two had constructed.

**Please review,** I would love to see what you think. The second chapter should be coming out in about a week or two. Sadly, this will be one of my shorter stories. I mean, this chapter is only like 720 words. It is one of my shortest stories so far. I trashed character development and gave an overview of their child hood. This is something new I'm trying. Usually I'd take like 4000 words to describe their first meeting, Ichigo saving Tatsuke for the first time, establishing trust, blah blah blah. But seeing as my attention span to this story is waning, I'm in favor of making it short sweet and quick to the good parts (next chapter btw). So, uh, review. (Thanx for the review). And, erm, have a good day.


	2. Memories: Admission of Weakness

Ichigo and Tatsuke were walking home from the dojo. The cool breeze felt good against their tiered bodies. Both walked in absolute silence. Despite being weaker, Tatsuke usually won their matches in the dojo. However, recently that had been changing. Over the course of a few weeks it had been harder and harder for her to land a hit on her friend. Other members of the underground may have seen this as a good thing, but Tatsuke did not. Her ability to win these matches was the only leverage she had in keeping her ties with Ichigo. Even though reason screamed against it, a tiny voice whispered in her ear painful things. She was desperately afraid that Ichigo would see her less of an equal if she could no longer keep up with his rapid growth. The potential loss of her one and only friend brought tears to her eyes, and so she avoided thinking about it. It would look poorly upon her and her father if anyone saw her crying. Weakness was not tolerated in the underground.

The two friends rounded a corner and crossed the road. They walked on a bike path that ran along a river. The river cut through the heart of Karakura Town. Vehicles sped by on their left as they slowly trotted down the path, enjoying each other's company. They walked side by side. Tatsuke on the left and Ichigo on the right.

Suddenly a dark black van braked beside the two. Ichigo turned his head at the loud screech, only to see the van's side door thrown open. A heavy man reached out of the car quickly and grabbed Tatsuke's arm. With the strength and speed of a well trained underground adult, the large man hauled Tatsuke's small thin body into the car.

By the time Ichigo had time to register what was happening and yell, the black door was slammed shut by another man, nearly nicking off Ichigo's outstretched hand. The last thing the boy saw was the form of his best friend being thrown head first into the opposite side door. In the brief five second period that the kidnapping had taken place, Ichigo could have sworn Tatsuke was bleeding from the head.

Not wasting a second, the boy ran after the van futilely. Never giving up he ran for fifteen minutes, turning corners quickly in pursuit of the van. Because of running with all of his might, his arms and legs began to tire. His body spasmed and was deprived of air as he ran with all his might after the van. His legs burned and screamed for him to stop running. His lungs felt on fire and he could barely catch his breath. He ran with such ferocity after the van.

His mind pleaded with whatever higher existence there was. He pleaded for anything to stop the kidnappers before they reached the highway. Ichigo knew these people would obey the traffic laws, mainly because they didn't want to warrant the attention of the police force. Not that they were afraid of the cops, but if the police shot out their wheels, and the boss's son managed to reach them, a bullet was guaranteed to be lodged between their brows. No, the best possible escape was a normal one. It was a close call, but Ichigo knew what they were thinking. The men only had to reach the highway. Because then, it would be too late.

Ichigo clenched his fists, knowing somewhere inside that it was already too late.

*end of flashback

* * *

Tatsuke lay clutched by the throat by the second Espada. The scream of agony died down, but her throat still painfully remembered. Barragon showed none of the arrogance or glee at her suffering that was to be expected of the lesser Espada.

Although the girl couldn't see behind her, somehow she knew the silence was caused by the captains' shock.

Even if her memory was without audio, they had seen him. They had seen her friend for what he truly was. And once more, the black haired girl was filled with such fear. Fear that had been forgotten for so long. Fear, not for herself, but for Ichigo.

She felt for one of the first times since that fateful day, the terror of being surrounded by enemies. The Espada who supported the man, Aizen, who wanted to destroy her world. And the Shinigami who would easily kill a hollow like her without remorse. She had done terrible things in her life, and her very soul was paying for them. And since the Shinigami knew the truth, her friend's soul would also have to pay the price.

"He doesn't know," she screamed out to them. "He doesn't know about his past. It is not his fault. It is not his fault that he's a hollow! You can't kill him…" She pleaded, "you can't kill him…he doesn't even know." Her head lowered as she tried to hide a small tear.

She was a child of the underground. Tears were a sign of weakness. Weakness that she refused to show.

Her eyes were wet and glossy, and blurred her vision. But she could still see the remains of the Midsummer's Memory play on the cloak of the immortal being before her.

She dropped her mental walls that she had built as a child, and as she descended once more into memory, she screamed the name of the person she wished desperately to see before her death.

"ICHIGO!!!"

* * *

Well, this seemed like the logical place to stop. Although this is shorter than my usual stories, I think it is better to space it along. Besides, ending it in strategic locations is often better for plot development. It also means more releases, more chapters, and yes, more reviews.

By the way, please REVIEW

So the word count is something around 910 words. Yeah, short, but sweet. Anyways, I don't know what to classify this as. I have it down as drama and crime, or something like that, I forget. So, if you've got a better genre suggestion, just include it in your review. Also, as you can probably tell, the flashbacks are AU (alternate universe), and the present is like super altered cannon on steroids (branching off of the current chapters).

Hope you guys are enjoying summer. And I'll try to write more. And now I just jinxed it…didn't I? Anyways, if you guys are interested, check my profile to see when stuff is coming out…


	3. Memories: The Sound of a Broken Heart

_Choice is the freedom that binds us the greatest_

_Its consequences shackle people_

_Stronger than the thickest rope _

_Or the heaviest chain._

_It cannot be cast off, because it endures forever._

_Choice._

_Redemption or Curse?_

The first thing Tatsuke noticed was the dark. As she swam into consciousness the smell of the damp room assaulted her nose. Soon after she noticed her hands were uncomfortably tied behind her, and her tiny body was bound to a metal chair. Rain water leaked from above and matted her hair

She raised her head ever so slightly to view her surroundings. Immediately through the dim light she saw the figure of a man. His face was shadowed by the darkness and he possessed a cane which was angled to his side. Too late, Tatsuke realized the man had seen her wake up.

"Ahh…So the fabled henchman's daughter awakens." He seemed to lean in closer, "How are you princess?"

Tatsuke instinctively pulled back. The man was old and she recognized him as none other than an old adversary of the underground.

"Princess, you are so quiet. Why is that? Why don't you tell me about -"

"I won't tell you a thing!" Tatsuke spat at the man. Her face contorted in anger.

"Oh. Looks like our friend here has quite a bite." The group's leader exclaimed. "How unusual, and here I thought that Arisawa had manners." He smiled, and his yellowed teeth shown in the dark. "Guess I'll have to teach you a lesson"

Tatsuke didn't even see it coming. The man hit her with iron knuckles straight across her face. She screamed and tasted blood as it pooled in her mouth.

She could scream, but she wouldn't allow herself to cry. Crying was admission of weakness. It was something that she could never do. "…Fucke-"

He pummeled her face. "What was that? Eh – sweet thing?"

She couldn't respond. The punches kept coming. Knocking the air out of her, beating her until her body burned.

"Stop."

The man froze. Tatsuke dully noted that the punches stopped. She raised her head slowly as she slunk to the ground – out of the leader's reach- looking in the direction of the voice.

"And what is a little shit like yourself going to do about it?" The leader questioned mockingly. "Do yourself a favor kid and - "

"Stop." The voice was cold, just like the first time. It sent shivers down Tatsuke's spine.

The silence was immediately broken by a single solemn sound:

_Click_.

One of the stranger's feet slid forward into the light. "I didn't think I needed to tell you this," his body followed his foot into the dim light, "But what you've done can't be forgiven." The voice was colder, so distant, and so filled with bloodlust.

"Oh, it must be my lucky day," the leader said laughing, "Could you be him? Seriously? Kurosaki Ichigo? - This is just too good to be true! If I kill you, the underground practically becomes mine!"

"…Ichigo.." Tatsuke breathed slowly. Her eyes following him and his every movement.

And then, it happened. With speed beyond his years Ichigo had covered five feet of ground. The gun snapped from his side and jammed into the leader's shoulder. The gun fired less than a second later, and blood exploded from the hole.

"AHH!" The leader yelled stumbling back.

Ichigo wasted no time, he roughly shoved his thumb into the bleeding wound and ripped at it. The leader continued his screaming.

Without wasting a second, the small boy moved his gun over the older man's heart. Without remorse or any look of concern he fired.

Ichigo stood up and looked around. "Tatsuke?" His hands lowered, seeing that all the leader's henchman had made a run for it. "So that's what they call loyalty these days…" Spotting Tatsuke he ran over and knelt by her, quickly untying the bonds.

Ichigo then began helping her up. Her body- specifically, her face- was bashed and bloodied. "Tatsuke, we need to get you to a hospital."

BANG!

The world seemed to spin in slow motion for her. Tatsuke heard the bang and smelled metal. She turned to her friend who had saved her, watching as blood spilled from his head. The boy went limp in her arms and he fell backwards. She fell with him. She whipped her head back to see the dying leader drop his gun. It had been his last act before dying.

Someone screamed. Only seconds later did Tatsuke realize it was her. She ripped off a piece of clothing from her shirt and wound it tightly over the hole. It was situated at the top of his head angled on the side. Reacting spontaneously she furiously dug into both his and her pockets in search of a mobile phone. Upon finding none, she wrenched his limp body from the ground and ran.

She ran faster than she knew she was able. Her feet pounding in the rain puddles. Rain soaking her cloths and his. After a block, she began knocking on doors, pounding furiously.

"Someone! Please! Answer!"

To her luck the first door opened. "Ishida Ryuken, how can I help you." The man froze, door ajar. His face staring at the bloody bundle in Tatsuke's arms.

Quickly and quietly, the older man ushered them in, shouting instructions to the scared young girl. Tatsuke was scared for good reason. Her only and best friend was shot in the head, and bleeding to death on a stranger's table. Only in such a moment of complete despair did Tatsuke allow her face to fill with tears that ran down her face, and mixed with the multitude of rain water as it dripped onto the stranger's floor.

"Please live, Ichigo." Tatsuke pleaded. "Please. Please! Please!"


End file.
